Bring Me Home
by starscriptmage
Summary: For Gruvia Week 2016. Gray and Juvia may not have much, but at least they have each other. Gruvia. Mentioned Miraxus, NaLu, RoWen, ElfEver, and GaLe. Cover art by blanania.
1. prompt 1: memories

**GRUVIA WEEK HERE I COME**

 **I HOPE TO HEAVEN I WILL DO BETTER THAN I DID ON GAJEVY WEEK**

 **I'll try my best to update ON TIME this time around! Thanks very much for 29 watchers! Prompt 1 may be short, but I spent lots of energy into making it centered around _quality not quantity_ , so I hope you enjoy ^^**

 **Also, just to make things clear, this is after the disbanding of the guild (in case anyone gets a little confused!)**

 **Prompt:** Memories

Some nights he wakes up to the sound of rain, dripping wet fingers tapping against the window and slipping down to the ground in wet, fading trails. Some nights he wakes up to thunder and lightning roaring in the sky, as if a dragon were swooping high above in the clouds. Some nights he wakes up to the soft, crackling hiss of fire in the hearth. Some nights the sound of the metal blinds rattling against each other greets him. Some nights the wind howls, wolflike, to the moon, and growls low in his ears when he struggles to sit up. And some nights he wakes up to silence, to utter empty silence: a solemn, patient stillness that blankets the house like a thick coat of fresh snow.

He hates the last kind with a fierce, dogged, desperate hatred. Gray would much rather the whisper of rain, or the cry of thunder, or the sizzle of fire, or even the wind singing tunelessly, endlessly in his ears than that silence.

Because silence, hollow silence, brings fear, and fear brings calm, and calm brings the horrible, horrible emptiness that chews holes in his already-fraying heart.

Gray finds that most nights are cut off abruptly by the sudden gasp of life, by the jerk of awareness, by the slow exhale of realization that he is home, and home is here, and he will be fine. But that's the part that's the worst of all, because the idea of being _fine_ is so alien to him, it makes him slump. Fine means well, but not bad. Fine means good, but not great. Fine means his beloved guild - the family that had knit him back together - is gone, maybe for good, and that he might never be anything more than fine again.

At three in the morning, he buries his head in his hands and stays there, unmoving, until the sun peeks through the blinds and paints shy golden streaks on the ground. Sometimes he will pull his face away from his fingers to find his palms warm and wet. Sometimes he will lift his eyes to the ceiling and realize that his cheeks are dry in the coldness of the morning air. Sometimes he will bury his head back into his pillow and will sleep to drown him again in its arms.

And sometimes he sits and waits for something that'll never come.

Some dreams are worse than others. Gray remembers Deliora, and he remembers Silver, and he remembers Mika. He remembers the girl from the bakery who brought him flowers, and he remembers the boy who came over to help paint the new room, and ended up staying for cookies and milk. He remembers Mother and her round stomach, and the tiny feet kicking under his hesitant hands. He remembers Ur's smile, and Lyon's scowl, and he remembers happiness. He remembers the promise of life and how death unraveled it thread by thread.

If he closes his eyes, he can taste pain and bitterness on the back of his throat, and he can hear the shouts of laughter, the seemingly never-ending sunshine, the voices telling him, _Let's go on a job together! Are you free today? I swear, Ice Princess - Will you participate in this year's Fantasia?_

If he closes his eyes, he can feel his guild mark burn hotter and hotter until he can't stand it anymore and chokes.

On lazier nights, Gray doesn't scramble to his feet and stare glassily out the window. He sometimes can't summon the will to even move. All he does is lie there, thinking about the blue mark on his chest. Back then, he almost had Mira stamp the 'fairy's tail' on the left side, over his heart, but stopped. The guild had become his _new_ heart, his new life, his new beginning.

In the fading moonlight, he runs a hand through his shaggy bedhead and pulls the covers tighter around him. He doesn't mind the cold, not really. It's just the warmth of having friends, the warmth that he's gotten so used to, that leaves behind a chilling shadow.

Sometimes he wakes up screaming, and that is when he feels a gaping pit of fearful loneliness open deep in his stomach.

Names run across his tongue - _Master, Mira, Lucy, Natsu, Elfman, Laxus, Erza_ \- and he has to swallow hard to keep them contained.

Whether it's by rain, lightning, fire, metal, wind, silence, or his own voice, he always, _always_ wakes alone in the suffocating dark: his hands curled to keep them from trembling, his heart throbbing painfully beneath his skin, his eyes squeezing shut and flaring open. But when dawn breaks there is another pair of hands holding his, a soft word pressed against his mouth, a heart beating next to his own. And he'll look down at two crystal-clear eyes, see the sun shining across the sea, and release a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding. They'll sit there, half-in and half-out of reality, letting gravity weigh them down and dreams raise them, until morning light sweeps away the dark. And in the midst of the trilling of birds and the rustling of leaves outside, with Juvia's hesitant but determined fingers wrapped around wrist, his shadow behind him and a world ahead, Gray stands, stretches, and ventures into a new day.


	2. prompt 2: eyes

**HEYYY GUESS WHO'S BACK**

 **MISS "OH I CAN DO THIS"**

 **MISS "OH THIS WON'T BE ANYTHING LIKE GAJEVY"**

 **I'm really, really sorry! I got a horrible case of writer's block last night and was bribed by Robin Hood ;;A;; in any case, I'll be uploading BOTH prompts 2 and 3 today. So look forward to it!**

 **Also, it makes SO much sense that in a Gruvia Week entry, I actually have equal amounts of Gruvia and Miraxus. Because Mira is awesome, and Laxus definitely is head over heels for her ;)**

 **This one is dedicated to lonestorm! She's the one who got me into shipping Miraxus. There's even a reference to her story The Keys of Fire in here (I think). Speaking of which, I'm re-reading it... again...**

 **Bring Me Home**

 **Prompt:** Eyes

Mirajane was having a field day.

First of all, her brother had finally summoned to courage to ask Evergreen out on a date, which had resulted in Freed and Bixlow presenting said manly man with a "contract for dating Ever, so read all two hundred fifty-one rules carefully and sign your name at the bottom". Then, Cana had disappeared for the afternoon, to the great surprise of many, only to reappear with a blazing red complexion and a bouquet of deep purple roses (granted, Mira was a little disappointed when the card mage refused to say who gave them to her, but before she could run from the guild's waggling eyebrows, the barmaid's sharp eyes spotted a fancy golden B emblazoned on the greeting card she was holding). Last (and sweetest) of all, Wendy had shyly given Romeo a birthday present - a blue hand-knitted scarf.

In other words, Mirajane's wallet and heart were both brimming with happiness.

And now, her next target (because when had she _not_ let an opportunity pass by like sand in the wind?) had just taken a seat in front of her and sighed through his nose.

* * *

It was all in the eyes when it came to matchmaking, Mirajane thought smugly as she set down a plate of fresh-baked pie and some ice water before Gray's slumped figure. It was _always_ in the eyes. Feelings, thoughts, everything. Eyes were truly the window to the soul - and the jackpot to her bets.

And currently, Gray's eyes were telling her right now that he was in deep, deep turmoil.

"Have some pie," she said kindly. "It's apple and cinnamon, with a sprinkle of heartache and a dash of denial."

"It's _what_ now?" Gray's head shot up in horror and Mira smiled back at him innocently.

"I said it's apple and cinnamon, with a sprinkle of sugar and a dash of salt," she replied quizzically, tilting her head to the side. "What did you think I was saying?"

An ungraceful snort to her left prompted Mira to hurl another slice of pie at the offender. Dusting her hands lightly, she turned back to a gaping Gray and pushed the plate a little closer to him.

"It's on the house, so don't worry."

Gray had pretty nice eyes, she had to admit. Dark blue, brooding, seemingly icy but actually quite warm. Always hiding his emotions from prying eyes with a veil of indifference. They were incredibly different from Juvia's: bright, innocent, and open for the world to see. Yet at the same time both of them displayed the same steadfast courage that made Mirajane laugh under her breath. Gray always insisted with a frantic stutter that he and Juvia were as different as night and day, but they were in truth two sides to the same coin. Both with their own troubles, both with their own joys.

And both, together, with much money to be gained and lost upon, apparently, as Mirajane observed quietly.

So different from the pair of half-lidded, crinkled golden eyes currently watching her every move like a hawk.

"Thanks," Gray said in a dull voice, pushing his hand through his hair restlessly. Mira only beamed brightly in response; her mind was already miles away, analyzing every little detail of Gray's movements. Agitation literally oozed from the boy; even though most of it was cleverly concealed, Mirajane took in his impatiently jiggling knee and clenched jaw with a brief nod. Coupled with the nearly imperceptible tint of red on his cheeks and the ever-growing crease on his forehead, she was now absolutely certain that the object of Gray's fidgeting was none other than Juvia Lockser.

She put together the actions of the last few days - he'd stared at her a moment too long, moved too rapidly to pass her the dipping sauce, jolted back as if burned when her hand touched his briefly - and nodded again. It was glaringly obvious that Gray was - how had Gajeel put it? - _whipped_. Yes, that was the word.

The eyes, Mirajane reminded herself abruptly, chiding herself inwardly for jumping to happy conclusions. She needed more evidence than that to be able to assume that Gray was _completely_ smitten.

So she did what she did best.

She meddled.

"Are you worrying about Juvia, Gray?"

There. A twitch.

Gray wrinkled his nose and shuffled his feet like a little boy cooped indoors for too long. Mira's smile grew when his gaze darted upwards uncertainly: those serious blue eyes were nearly brimming with confusion, bewilderment, stress, anxiety - nearly every emotion on the spectrum of the human heart. It only took a few seconds, but Mira's instincts finally caught on what she was looking for in the ice mage's irises -

 _Love._

"Bingo," she whispered triumphantly to herself.

"Juvia's out shopping with the other girls, but she'll be back by around noon," the inwardly squealing barmaid informed him, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "I can tell her you're looking for her when they get back, if you want."

A stifled cough to the left made Mira glare furiously at the innocently smiling (but annoying nonetheless) person's direction.

She sighed in defeat (some people really didn't know how to stop), pinched the bridge of her nose, and turned back to Gray.

Sometimes, emotionally confused ice cubes with no experience in dealing with their own feelings needed a nudge in the right direction. And Mira was definitely more than willing to be the one to help him out.

Gray's jaw dropped dramatically for a moment, and he started to stammer incoherently at her offer, but he soon reasserted control over himself and clamped his mouth shut.

"Uh… sure. Thanks," he managed to blurt out, complexion turning remarkably similar to a beet's. "I - uh - she - see you around."

And with that, Gray Fullbuster, 100% guaranteed lovelorn beyond the point of no return, got up and hurried away as fast as his two legs could carry him.

Mirajane pressed her hands to her mouth and allowed herself a small victory hop. It really _was_ in the eyes. Who would've guessed (other than her), really? Gray _hadn't_ been completely unaffected by Juvia's affections. And now she had definitely proof - AND several new ideas for the Gruvia betting pool!

Everything would've gone a lot smoother if it hadn't been for _some irritating person_ , though, Mira thought. Her mouth twisted a little crankily, and she swept her hair away from her face impatiently. Tucking her little book of placed bets into her pocket, she exhaled slowly and counted silently from one to five.

"Quit smirking at me, Laxus Dreyar," she said coolly, turning around to give said dragonslayer an uncharacteristically dark stare. "It's distracting."

"Make me," Laxus drawled back, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He took a long draught from his mug and sat back, his expression growing amused - much to her chagrin. Unconsciously, Mira shivered slightly at his cocky little grin. "And what part of it exactly is distracting, hmm, Miss Mirajane Strauss?"

"Nothing," Mira replied, lifting Gray's plate of uneaten pie to wipe the wooden surface beneath. She fixed Laxus with a long, blank look. "And what exactly is so funny about this to you?"

"You wouldn't tell me I was distracting you if I wasn't."

Standing and leaning dangerously close to her - so close she could nearly taste the coffee on his breath - he smiled, his gaze still locked on her. "I think it's funny that you always look at a person's eyes before zeroing in on them. In a way, it's very..." He searched for a word slowly, tongue swiping across his lips in thought. "It's very _you_."

 _Do not show any further irritation… do not show_ any _further irritation…_

Ha! Zeroing in on people? Mira didn't _do_ zeroing in on people. _Laxus_ was the one who liked to do such a thing!

Case in point, she thought in resignation, as she tore herself away from the looming dragonslayer and began to put some dirty tankards into the sink.

"It's all in the eyes, you know," she said, not bothering to spare him a glance. "I've trained myself to read people through their movements, words, and eyes. Everything adds up to one important thing in the end."

"And what might that one thing be?"

His fingers grazed her jaw ( _how'd he reach that far-?_ ) and she frowned at him pointedly, only to receive a low, bemused chuckle.

"A happy couple," came the short, taut response. Mirajane cleared her throat firmly and began to move away - preferably closer to Cana, who was bound to start a conversation - but large, warm fingers caught her wrist in a rough yet gentle grip.

Electricity raced up and down Mira's spine in a quick rush of suppressed energy, and she bit the corner of her lip. Hard.

"And can you tell me, oh wise one," Laxus's voice whispered raggedly in her ear, eyelids sinking low and mouth curling in confidence, "what _my_ eyes are telling you?"

The female mage let her voice hitch audibly and grinned to herself when she saw a smug smile make its way across the dragonslayer's face. Abruptly, she tugged her hand away, placing it on Laxus's chest, her other hand putting a gentle finger over his lips to silence him. Something sweet and devious played at the corners of her mouth as she brought her face mere millimetres away from Laxus's, and she scanned his golden irises with a flick of her gaze. Pleased with what she was seeing, she brushed her mouth slightly against his forehead and with a slow intake of breath, she whispered in a soft, deadly voice,"They're telling me I have lots of money to earn from my ships this week."

With a sharp push, Laxus landed quite hard on his chair, a stunned expression freezing his features. A cheerfully humming Mirajane slipped a forkful of pie into her mouth, dress swishing behind her as she marched away.

She let herself smile wickedly at no one in particular, mentally tallying up how much money she was staking on Gray and Juvia. Maybe they wouldn't happen as soon as Cana and Bacchus (and the chance of them getting together was certainly higher than the chances of her marrying Laxus - which was zero, by the way), but it wouldn't take long. The corners of her mouth lifted even further at the delayed hiss of disappointment (and the hazy crimson cheeks) from Laxus's direction, and the memory of the struggle in Gray's eyes as he sat before the plate of steaming pie.

No, it wouldn't take long at all.

 **Extra note: his eyes were saying, " _Mirajane, you're beautiful and sweet and clever, please marry me already"._ And have I mentioned that I love writing bada** Mira? I was literally grinning while writing the last couple paragraphs.**


	3. prompt 3: family

**YES SEE LOOK I CAN BE RESPONSIBLE AFTER ALL!**

 **I was so incredibly happy that LoneStorm, who I dedicated prompt number 2 to, really liked it! I finished typing out prompt 3 shortly before noticing that she'd commented on #2... Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying Gruvia Week, and I am very excited to present you... a continuation Day 1′s prompt. This time it's in Juvia's POV. Which was a lot more difficult to write than I'd expected...**

 **Also, here's a hint: in both stories, there is a recurring theme about friends. Can you spot the mentioned members of FT? (You should, since I made it rather obvious. Look for objects/things that occur repetitively!)**

 **Bring Me Home**

 **Prompt:** Family

Sometimes she finds no solace in her home. Sometimes she feels like she might have lost a part of her she'll never get back ever again. Sometimes she stares at the ceiling in the dark, and when she does, she can almost feel the cold drip-drip-drip of droplets against her cheeks.

Juvia finds comfort in the lazy mists of evening and the fierce, unyielding stars at night. Juvia finds ease in the early hours of morning, where her limbs automatically carry out the mundane tasks that form her daily routine. Juvia finds courage in the mark on her thigh, in the puff of breath that tells her she is _alive_ and _here_ , in the way her hand softens against the frame of the Gray's doorway when she peers through.

She finds her heart again when she sees her beloved Gray-sama, low-lidded and yawning, brushing his teeth groggily beside her. The back-and-forth swishing motion is repetitive and boring, but the fact that Gray is with her makes it all the more special.

It's in the small things that makes her forget that her family is gone.

* * *

The radiance of the glow-in-the-dark stars she'd pasted on the walls of her room. The whiff of steam curling from the kettle spout. The piles and piles of heaped books she puts into orderly stacks. The glint of silver from the pendant that is both a cross and a sword - and sometimes neither.

And during these moments, Juvia half-closes her eyes and breathes in the smell of home.

It's not much, but slowly, painfully, she and Gray are getting used to loneliness. She can see it in him - of course she can. Because every grin, every laugh, every little word they speak or even whisper echoes through the house like the whisper of a past conversation. Because every time their fingers graze the front door, skin meeting polished wood, they remember pushing open the doors of the guild for the very first time.

Because having each other means they're both closer and distant than they've ever been before to another human being.

Juvia supposes Phantom Lord had been a place where she could stay, with a roof over her head. But Fairy Tail is - had been - the only place where she could _flourish_ , where she could smile, where she could fall and trust that there would be hands to catch her.

She thinks of her friends when she puts out the lantern for the night. At the last flare of the flame within, she thinks, _Natsu._ At the spiral of smoke in the sudden darkness, she thinks, _Gildarts._ At the flash of moonlight when she sweeps her curtains aside, she thinks, _Master._

In the early hours of morning, when day and night intersect like pieces in a puzzle, she finds names of both people she'd loved and people she'd barely interacted with at Fairy Tail being branded in her mind.

 _Naab, Laki, Max, Jet_ -

A heartbeat. She's here, and she's alive.

 _Droy, Lisanna, Mirajane, Elfman -_

A breath. Catching painfully and struggling in her throat not to be released into the cool, still air.

 _Bixlow, Freed, Laxus, Kinana -_

She thinks, and she remembers, but it's not enough. Memories and fragments of the past are hardly able to make up for the guild-sized hole in her heart.

They were her very first family. Forget Master Jose. Phantom was a mere passing breeze compared to the storm that was Fairy Tail. Juvia lets her finger disrupt the silky threads of water spilling from the tap, and she can suddenly feel the sun on her face, warming her from head to toes. In a single blink, she is there again, and her brothers and sisters (not in blood, but in spirit) laugh - _laughed_ \- as she spreads her arms and legs and lets the light wash her away.

It's not enough.

The stars, the kettle, the books, the sword. They can never replace her family, those closest to her heart.

 _But you left anyway,_ she thinks in the faint blush of dawn, in the dip of the bed, in the way she slowly pulls her fingers through the tousled dark head, limp in her lap. _You could've protested and demanded and - and -_ stopped _them from tearing apart the guild, but you didn't._

Juvia holds Gray tight to her heart, knowing very well the danger in doing so. However much she cares, and loves, and aches, it all disappears in the end without a path to follow, the only proof of its existence being the blue insignia she traces absentmindedly with her finger on a daily - hourly - basis.

But she is here, and she is alive.

And so is Gray.

His hand is cold in hers, and she's aware that if she presses her shoulder to his, he won't shrug her off. If she presses her palm to his cheek, sometimes it comes away wet, but he doesn't frown when she carefully wipes the tears away. If she pulls a brush through his bedhead, he will turn around wordlessly and help her work out the tangles in her own hair. And if she leans her head on him, she knows - she knows a gentle hand will tuck strands of blue behind the shell of her ear. Then long, unsure fingers will wrap around her arm and carefully, carefully, another head, fluffy and mussed, will nestle softly atop of hers.

She wants her family back so much that sometimes it hurts from deep within her chest. A part of her believes - childishly, stubbornly, stupidly - that they'll all meet again one day, in the far, far future. She believes despite her doubts that she'll be able to see a flicker of gold, a sparkle of periwinkle, a glimmer of brown, and a fierce, brave shimmer of bloodred scarlet, reunited once again, in the streets of Fiore. And then she'll hear the sound of voices cajoling and shouting, teasing and comforting, surrounding her. Then she will know that she is home at last where she belongs.

But, Juvia reminds herself, she is not unhappy. She may have lost her family, but bonds such as these are not physical and temporary. They last long after she's lifted her hand in farewell, long after she's released the people she's grown so close to. And they still remain in the puff of cold she feels against her mouth as she greets Gray with a cheerful smile. Fresh air and the sound of the world waking pours in from the window. He touches his chest, she her thigh - almost unconsciously - and they share a look of understanding.

"Good morning," she'll say, and the stars will wink in the coming dawn.

"Good morning," he'll reply, as the kettle begins to whistle distantly.

She'll tuck a book or two from the top of his drawers under her arm, and this pendant will wink in the sleepy sunlight at her, as if sharing a secret.

Then he'll wrap his arms slowly, cautiously, around her waist, and they'll stay there until golden light sketches the outline of their shadows on the floor.

"You're my family now," Juvia will tell him, hand resting on the curve of his neck. _I'm glad I knew everyone,_ she thinks to herself. _I'm glad I know you._

"And you're mine," Gray will reply.

And in the stillness of the hall, she knows, with the hum of daily life returning to their house, with the birds' song announcing the return of light, with the rising with his fingers tracing the angles of her jaw, with their breath rising and falling in comfortable harmony, that he's right.


	4. prompt 4: vacation

**I'M SO TIRED AND I HATE THIS BUT HERE YOU GO**

 **Prompt:** Vacation

"Where do you guys want to go for the summer?"

Natsu looked up from his bowl of ice cream, his mouth smeared with creamy paste and chocolate chips, and stared.

"What?" Gray finally snapped, after he realized that the dragonslayer wasn't going to let him go without an answer. "Somethin' wrong, fire freak?"

"Yeah, your face, ice idiot," Natsu shot back, grinning ferociously. It was worth mentioning that the dragonslayer's I'll-smash-your-brains-out face, combined with mint and vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, and chocolate slathered all over his face, made a picture both horrifying and hilarious.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Gray leapt to his feet, eyes blazing - er, freezing - with fury. "Oh, you're _so_ asking for it. You wanna go? Huh? _DO_ YA?"

"PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON, GLACIER BOY," Natsu bellowed back, jumping up. "AND YEAH, I WANNA GO. BRING IT ON!"

(In the background, Levy buried her nose deeper into her book and Lucy slapped her forehead in exasperation.)

It took two simultaneous chops to the side from Erza to stop the two of them from starting another brawl.

"I'm sorry," Natsu said weakly from where he was sprawled on the ground.

"I'm sorry," Gray said in a strangled voice as he tried to put himself back together.

The requip mage looked positively _murderous_. She'd changed into a tank top and jean shorts, and was trying to fan herself with the Weekly Sorcerer. Leaning back in her seat, she took a sip from her strawberry smoothie, and crossed her legs.

"It's too hot to fight," she nearly barked, slamming her drink down so hard Lucy jumped. "Don't you two dare start arguing, do you hear?"

"Y-Yes, sir! Uh, ma'am! Whatever you say! Yes! Absolutely!" the two boys babbled, scrambling for their seats. Gray tried to wash away his discomfort by spooning mint frozen yoghurt into his mouth, but choked suddenly at the sight of a violently pumping red bottle.

" _Don't put Tabasco sauce in your ice cream, are you stupid_?" he hissed, eyes bugging out. Erza caught his spoon before it rolled onto the floor and stuck it firmly back into his frozen yoghurt.

Natsu shrugged languidly, licking red off his fingers, and swirled his spoon around again and again and again and again -

"Never mind," Lucy interrupted hastily. "What was that you said about a vacation?"

Gray tried to recover by scooping more of his frozen yoghurt into a large ball and shoving it into his mouth. It was way too hot today; even _he_ was beginning to feel sweat beading at his temples. Wiping distractedly at his forehead, he crammed another mouthful in and hoped that Mira would get the air con fixed soon.

"We should take a break once in a while," he suggested, pointing his spoon vaguely in everyone's direction. Beside him, Juvia let out a squeal of excitement.

"Where?" she said, eyes alight with excitement. Involuntarily, she took hold of his arm, face beaming with curiosity. "Who's coming?"

Gray flinched slightly as he stared down at the blue-haired girl. _Too bright._

"Uhh, anyone who wants to come," he said quickly, his eyes darting away from her innocent, happy face. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he slid the handful of travel brochures to the middle of the table. "Erza, Lucy, Levy, the Strauss siblings, Max, Jet, Droy, Laki, maybe even the Raijinshuu if they want - "

"Can I come, too?" Wendy asked from the other side of the table, her doe-like brown eyes shimmering with eagerness. Carla had arranged her hair into low twin tails, and her sundress, though it was white, was surprisingly less blinding than Juvia's smile. Gray frowned. Maybe he should go see an eye doctor, or something. Despite his better judgement, he turned to look at Juvia, and when he did, he nearly fell off his chair.

 _OUCH._

"Sure, I guess," he replied, thankful for the diversion. Had Juvia always been this… sparkly? Maybe it was a new trend for girls to put glitter cream or whatever on themselves. "And Carla and Happy, too."

"Are we goin' somewhere?" Gajeel sat down with a thump, slamming his plate of iron down and taking a chomp out of the biggest piece. "It better not be the glaciers, snowflake."

"We haven't decided yet," Lucy and Levy chorused. Natsu only garbled something, grinning, and squirted a little more hot sauce into his ice cream.

"This is way too cold," Gray managed to make out through the mouthful of gunk in the weirdo's mouth hindering his speech. "Why don't they sell _hot_ ice cream, huh?"

"Because that's dumb," Gray and Gajeel snapped simultaneously. Gray rolled his shoulders uncomfortably when Juvia's eyes turned back to him; this time of year was _way_ hotter than last summer. She tipped her head quizzically at him and something in his stomach lurched.

Yeah, must be some freak of nature. Global warming, or something.

His heart was literally burning up as Erza and Lucy peered at the travel brochures, raising their eyebrows in approval. What was _wrong_ with the weather? He'd managed to last half an hour without stripping (for the sake of his own health; Erza had given him a blank stare that scared him even more than her usual glower did), but now, his fingers were starting to tingle. Okay, so he'd lost his navy blue tank top a while ago. But that didn't mean his shorts were about to come off any time soon, right?

Besides, he had a much more problematic thing at hand. His whole friggin' _chest_ was hurting. Maybe it was that sunscreen. He shouldn't have trusted Loke to find a proper brand.

"I wanna go here," Levy said, tapping the picture of a beautiful town in the mountains. "It says they have rare books in the local library! I'd like to see those."

 _Ba-dump._

Gray's eyes bulged and he grabbed at his chest. "What the - "

"You're the only one, Shrimp," Gajeel grunted, jabbing at the picture of a workshop with the end of his knife. "This one has several parks and a waterfall nearby. I'm thinkin' I can do some training there."

 _Ba-DUMP._

Whoa. This was serious. Gray choked, and something began to spiral rapidly in his stomach. Like he was a dragonslayer on a vehicle going around in loops and circles and doing figure eights in the sky -

"Do you ever stop training?" Lucy said in exasperation, and nudged Natsu. "Hey, look, a dojo! Wow, and they have pretty cheap lodgings, too."

 _Ba-_ DUMP.

He needed air. He needed to breathe. He couldn't freaking _breathe -_

In. Out. In. OUT. It was too hot. TOO HOT. His blood had started to boil in his veins, and he could almost start to feel his fingers shake. Gray felt a jolt of panic run down his spine. What was this? Some sickness? Maybe hyperthermia? Or was he having a stroke?

Water. He needed to submerge himself in lots of water. Ice cold water in a bathtub. Preferably with a few floating ice cubes. He needed to cool down, and he needed to -

"How about the sea?" Juvia suggested. "It's very popular this time of year, but maybe we make a reservation. Juvia likes visiting the sea."

"Yes, yes, good idea, let's go to the sea," Gray gasped in relief. The sea… water… cold… air… Yes. That was a good idea.

"Uhh… Gray, are you okay?" Lucy gave him a strange look. "You look like you're having a fever."

"What?" Juvia immediately put her hands on his cheeks to test his temperature, mouth popping open with worry. Immediately, his heart sped up - _boom, boom, boom, BOOM_ \- and heat shot up to his cheeks. What on earth was going on? he wondered frantically. What could he do to stop this?

"Yeah, you look weird," commented Natsu, wiping his mouth with the napkin Lucy offered him wordlessly. "Eat a poisonous mushroom, or somethin'? Sounds like somethin' stupid you'd do."

"Nah," Gajeel said before Gray could retort. He grinned at the ice mage, and the smug look in his eyes grew into something… _knowing_. And slightly jeering too, but then again, Gajeel was always a jerk when it came to stuff like this.

Wait, stuff like this? Gray's brow creased. Had this ever happened before?

As if sensing his thoughts, the dragonslayer bared his teeth in self-satisfaction.

"He's just completely - "

Levy slapped his mouth shut with her book - which was gigantic and a leather-bound hardcover. Gajeel hissed in pain, scrambling to his feet and rubbing at his sore lip.

" _Shrimp, what the he -_ " he began furiously, but Levy just gave him a look.

"Read the atmosphere, for once," she whispered equally furiously.

Read what atmosphere? Gray's eyes went back to Juvia, and he realized a little too late that she was still holding his face. Crimson infused his face and he suddenly got the feeling that his head was being filled with too much steam. Was there an atmosphere to be read? Since when? How come he hadn't noticed?

"I approve," Erza said, slamming down her fist and nodding firmly. "The beach is a lovely place at this time of year."

"Yeah, we can show off the new tops we bought a few days ago!" Lucy said, grinning at Levy and Juvia.

"I think it's a good idea, too," Mirajane piped in, passing her brother a huge mug of chilled root beer. "We'll see if Lisanna can come." Something sly glinted in her eyes as Elfman chugged down some root beer, and she smirked behind her hand. "In fact, I'll make sure the Raijinshuu can come, as well. Evergreen will be very happy, of course. She loves the beach."

Root beer splashed all over the ground as Elfman struggled to swallow properly.

Amidst the laughs and teasing voices around him, Gray buried his head in his arms, suddenly exhausted, and took a deep breath. He should probably visit the doctor before they left for the sea, he told himself wearily. Then he'd find out what made the world so pretty and shiny and colourful -

Juvia's curls bounced as she rocked back and forth on her seat. Her cheeks flushed with anticipation, she peeked shyly at Gray.

CRASH, went his heart.

 _Oh,_ he thought dismally in glum realization, then, _oh, crap, I'm so dead._

"Juvia thinks this trip will be the best trip ever!" She announced, and her face _glowed_ -

Gray gave up. He couldn't do it. Nope. He was done. This was it. He was retiring from life, officially. He wasn't gonna do this anymore. Gray is done. Gray is finished. Gray OUT.

His heart skipped like a schoolgirl's as THAT SMILE appeared again, and sunshine and rainbows and all happy sappy stuff shimmered disgustingly beautifully in his mind.

He nodded, confirming it with something akin to dread and resignation.

 _I'm doomed._


End file.
